[NiInJa]

I would rate Jupiter and Wego the best so far, haven't tried Suzuki or Yamaha scooter yet. Jupiter and Wego have the longest wheelbase too, so that helps. But I do miss my Hero Honda Passion very much, she was the best in terms of ride quality in city: light, soft and nimble.

If its not going to be ridden by any ladies in the house, I would suggest getting a 110cc bike with a rucksack attached to the saari guard (I used to do this). Can carry your laptop bag or groceries efficiently.

[hserus]

Telescopic suspension for nearly all scooters is a thing as others have said, and like the OP I have a bad back too. I haven’t driven scooters for over two decades but have on some occasions taken an old Activa I had access to earlier for short rides.

What is a good bike for a complete newbie to motorcycles, who is moreover 42, 6 feet tall, with a large potbelly and a bad back? If such a thing as a best bike for such a build exists of course of which I have some doubts.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by hserus

What is a good bike for a complete newbie to motorcycles, who is moreover 42, 6 feet tall, with a large potbelly and a bad back? If such a thing as a best bike for such a build exists of course of which I have some doubts.

Hero Xpulse 200. Suspension kills everything out there.

[nitro.1000bhp]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Hero Xpulse 200. Suspension kills everything out there.

You seem to have wandered off the 390 adv forum now get off the scooter forum, would you?

Anyhow, xpulse isn't a scooter make. The utility of a scooter is unmatched. I am having lots of fun with my Burgman, trust me. But, I am blessed with relatively smooth Madras roads.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by nitro.1000bhp

You seem to have wandered off the 390 adv forum now get off the scooter forum would you?

Anyhow, xpulse don't a scooter make. The utility of a scooter is unmatched...I am having lots of fun with my burgman trust me. But I am blessed with relatively smooth Madras roads.

Well, I was just answering a motorcycle question on a scooter thread on a car forum, so don’t shoot the messenger

I don’t cross 30 or 40 kmph on the Jupiter here. It’s impossible, I have to get back to crawling over the rutted roads and corrugated surfaces or the ill designed speed breakers. You can’t even stand on the darned thing.

I will never use a scooter for anything beyond a 2 km radius from home. A motorcycle with long travel suspension and a top box seals the deal for me. I look like a fool anyway with a mega full face helmet which is bigger than the scooter bumbling around here.

[bkc]

I own an access 125se and have driven my friends jupiter many times. In terms of ride quality, I like the scooty Zest.

If you want to rate the ride quality, it is like this
Zest> Jupiter > Access.
No matter how hard you try, scooters can't beat bikes in terms of ride quality. Tvs seems a little better as it as 12 inchers on both wheels, while access has 10 at rear.

[manij]

Suggest to have Suzuki Burgman Street near the top of your consideration list. I have one and find it better than other scooters I have owned / driven extensively including Activa, Dio and Access. All the best!

[Neeraj1903]

If you are fine with having an Electric scooter, do test drive Bajaj Chetak when available. From my experiences of all the Bajaj bikes I have ridden, from Platina to D400, Bajaj has a good low speed ride and this might be the same case for their scooter.
I have no experience of Bajaj Scooter though as they exited Scooter market quite a few years before I got my MCWOG licence

[CarBot]

I think I can answer this as I currently own a NTorq, Access 125 and a Dio. I use Ntorq my brother uses access and my dad uses Dio. Best suspension is with Ntorq, Access has good seat where 2 people with bags etc can fit (read it as bigger seat). Dio has worst suspension, fiber body which starts vibrating after sometime. But Dio is fun to drive compared to other 2.
Ntorq has better braking. It also has under seat light and charger. The Bluetooth is gimmicky and not much of use as the navigation is provided by MapmyIndia and not google maps.
I had tested Aprilia twins felt ride quality was rough. Burgman was too wide and did not like the looks.
My pick would be Ntorq if you are going to ride 20kms or more. Less than that you can go for Dio and save few quids.

[JayD]

If you have access to a power source in your parking lot, I would suggest you look at the Ather 450. It has telescopic forks in front, a monoshock at the rear and dual disc brakes. Ride and handling is on another level compared to conventional scooters, and its super cheap to run.

[TravelIKON]

Like few others have mentioned, I would recommend the Suzuki Burgman Street if you are looking for comfort. Please have a test ride in bumpy conditions to judge the comfort of the scooters accurately. Having lived in Bangalore, I don't think it is hard to find such roads.

[livyodream]

To summarize as per all the posts here and not quoting individually, here is what I understand when it comes to suspension and back comfort:

Jupiter seems to be the hot favorite among majority.
NTorq has got mixed reviews, something I did not expect since it was almost similar to Jupiter.
Access 125 surprisingly is not as good as I thought it to be, going by the reviews here.
Hardly anyone bothered to recommend hero brand.
Honda Aviator is a contender as per few.


To answer few questions raised here,
I am not looking at electric vehicle for next 2 years at least. Current cost of Ather doesn’t justify my 70-80kms run per week.
Have lost patience to ride a bike with gear after getting used to scooter.
Burgman feels way too wide for Bangalore traffic.
I have a Dio and have 2 inch foam padded seat cover on it. It did make a lot of difference but still not there yet.
Looking at positive response about Jupiter, I need to check the suspension of the Jupiter I have at home since I do not feel the ride is as good as the feedback given here.


By the way, is this possible?
To retro fit Jupiter’s suspension to dio. It has now got some adjustable suspension too.


Love the handling of dio and barring the crappy suspension I would'nt want to dispose dio at all.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by livyodream

Honda Aviator is a contender as per few.

Definitely do a test ride of your shortlisted scooters, including the Aviator. Recently I had a friend who was heading to the nearby metro station and I offered to drop him off in my Honda Aviator. Half way through, he asked me how/what I modified in the Activa to improve its ride and handling When I told him it's an Aviator, he said he's had an Activa for years but never heard about this scooter! It's a sales dud, but a nice scooter. Test ride the one with disc brake though.
My ownership review thread is here (Ownership Review: Honda Aviator (Pearl Sunbeam White))

[Sebring]

I rate NTORQ the best, as suspension was my primary concern. Tried everything in the market before zeroing on this. The Scooter just glides over rough roads.

[anjan_c2007]

Among the older lot (though only few survive) my full marks go to the archiac suspension of the Lambretta Li 150 Series I and II. Anyone who has driven and used the Italian beauty as a daily runner will vouch for its extremely balanced body, best feel of connect with the road surface and excellent suspensions to take on our kinda roads. Older Vespa 150's or the Bajaj 150's / Super/ Chetak do not come close to the Lambretta.

In the newer lot, I would rate the older generation ( ??G) Activa suspensions as among the worst. Can't count the number of times it has bottomed out with it's metallic creak and cry, even encountering wee bits of unevenness on the road surface. Not sure why they made telescopes unaffordable to millions of their Activa customers ! Are they telescopically far placed to be eligible for those telescopes ?

Yes, the telescopic suspensions in the newer breed are the best among the newer lots with TVS taking the lead, followed by the Access and later the Activa variants.